Day by Day
by Manigault
Summary: Grissom and Sara Realization on Grissom's part. Repost...Now that I'm back into fanfic I'm going to be posting a sequel to this one.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Day by Day

By: Manigault

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to CBS.

Note: This is a repost of a story I wrote some time back. I have the fanfic bug once again so I reposted this one in order to finish the sequel that was never posted. I will post the first chapter of the sequel, No Games, sometime next week. Thanks to all who read this!

Pre-relationship and set back a few seasons

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"Greg, get over it." Nick leaned against the counter and shook his head. "Sara has no interest in dating you or anyone else for that matter."

Greg grinned into the microscope. "That's the beauty of it, Nick. We are not going out to breakfast as potential dates…..only as friends."

From his position on the other side of the room, Grissom paused in his musings over his latest experiment and shamelessly listened to the conversation.

"I've tried setting Sara up with several of my friends and she specifically informed me that she has no interest. If you push her, Greg."

Greg looked up from the blood sample he'd been perusing. He smiled wider at the threat in Nick's voice. "Nick. Trust me. Do you and Sara go to breakfast occasionally?"

"That's different. I don't have a crush on her and want breakfast to turn into something more---serious."

"I'm going to breakfast with Sara as a friend." Greg lost the grin. "You know that I've been having nightmares ever since that explosion? Well, Sara has too. She and I are going to talk."

Sara was having nightmares of the accident? Grissom pushed the thought aside and stared across the room at Greg.

"I didn't know that Sara was having trouble with the accident." Nick admitted. He looked as guilty as Grissom felt for not considering that possibility.

"Well, I didn't tell you. And, besides, if over time Sara starts to realize that there could be something between us, who am I to argue?" Greg hoped that he hadn't put his foot in his mouth. Sara would cancel their breakfast for certain if she knew that he was spilling her secrets. Suddenly aware of another presence, he spun towards Grissom. "When did you come in?"

"I've been here since you have, Greg." Grissom turned back to his experiment. "I think that you should concentrate on talking about the explosion and not get your hopes up that it could lead to more."

Nick smiled at the irritated look that spread over Greg's face. The lab tech wanted to argue with Grissom, but he wouldn't dare.

"Why don't I go to breakfast with you and Sara?" Nick offered the younger man. That way he could observe Sara with a new perspective and keep an eye on Greg.

"No thanks." Greg took the slide from the microscope and made a quick retreat.

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Grissom tapped his pen on the stack of papers that adorned his desk. He was not the least bit concerned that Sara would take Greg seriously, but what if she felt some sense of obligation to Greg because they had both been injured in that explosion?

A shadow passed by the doorway, and he called out without conscious thought.

"Sara?"

The shadow returned to the doorway and Sara stared at him with a questioning look.

"Is your case closed?" Grissom searched for a reason to have called her back.

"It is." Sara folded her arms at the elbows and raised her eyebrows. "Is that it, Grissom? Because I'm going to breakfast."

"I need your case report." Grissom said quickly.

"My case report." Sara repeated the request with a flat intonation. "I'll get it to you when I come in tonight."

"I need it this morning."

Sara paused and stared at him as if he had morphed into someone else. "I'll come back after breakfast and write it out for you. It will be on your desk before noon."

"That's not good enough." Grissom was not sure what he was hoping to accomplish with his insistence. He was certainly not winning any points with Sara. "I need it before you leave this building. I have to turn it over to Brass so they can proceed."

"Since when was it so urgent?"

"It's not a request, Sara."

Stopping beside Sara in the hallway Catherine caught the last statement and turned quizzical eyes to the man sitting with stoic unease behind the desk.

"Fine." Sara was turning away when she saw Greg hurrying along the hall. "Greg, I'm going to have to pass on going to breakfast with you this morning."

Grissom could not see the expression on Greg's face, but he imagined it was filled with dismay.

"Okay." Greg started to turn away without asking any more questions when Sara decided to make another offer.

"You ever heard of that vegetarian place on State Street?"

"Yep." Greg said without turning around.

"Why don't you meet me there for dinner, say around five?"

The smile that spread over Greg's face lifted Sara's own dark mood. He was such a sweet kid. She did not spare another look inside Grissom's office as she moved off to complete her case report.

Catherine stepped into his office and tilted her head slightly. "If I were to make a wild assumption I would say that your plan backfired."

"Excuse me?"

"You kept Sara from having breakfast with Greg today, but now they are having dinner." Catherine stood directly in front of his desk. "You know, Sara has breakfast with many people here; Warrick, Nick, David, Doc Robbins. I don't think she has met any of them for dinner. Interesting."

Without saying another word, she flounced out of his office.

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They sat around the table waiting for assignments. Grissom was uncharacteristically late but before they started to question his tardiness aloud he strolled in with an armful of papers.

He let his eyes sweep over the investigators and was careful not to linger on one more than another. He did notice that Sara was staring at the table, her back rigid as he brushed by her chair.

"Catherine, Nick and Warrick." Grissom had their attention before he set the heavy stack of paper on the table. "You have a multiple shooting over in Watkins subdivision."

"Sara, I need you to go through these old cases and find anything that matches this case." He handed her a typed report. "It is the request of a New York agency that plans on reviving the cases with an attempt to match them with a serial killer and connect them."

"You're kidding me." Sara felt the eyes of her co-workers drilling into her as they had to be wondering what she'd done to piss Grissom off now. She certainly was wondering.

"I kid you not." Grissom motioned towards the stack. "They requested that you set aside any cases that appear to have more potential than others in being related."

"If they had the potential of being related then we would have connected them." Sara said flatly.

Warrick snorted. Nick patted her on the shoulder as he stood. "Well, I'll fill you in on our multiple when I get back."

Sara ignored the friendly jabs and kept her attention on Grissom.

"When did you start disliking me so much, Grissom?"

"What?" The question caught him off guard. He'd expected her to protest, to be angry with him, but not ask him that question.

"You heard me." Sara reached for the stack of paperwork and pulled it over to her. She was not happy with what he asked her to do, but she would do it.

"I don't dislike you, Sara." Grissom looked around the now empty room. "I need someone with a sharp eye to help me go through these cases. That's it."

"Help you?" Sara felt a stirring of hope that he was not leaving her to drudge through this alone.

"I plan on subjecting myself to the same task." Grissom tried to keep his voice light.

Personally, he questioned why he had to contend with this at all. In his estimation the 'cold case' team could go through these themselves and make a decision. Carvallo had passed it off on him this afternoon when he arrived and now he had two days to comply.

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"Hi, Sara," Greg's much too cheerful voice broke through their intense concentration of case number four. They had diligently weighed through the paperwork for the past five hours, picking it apart for similarities to the New York City serial killer. Now Greg stood by the table with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Hi back, Greg." Sara smiled at the young man and earned a shy smile in return.

Grissom scowled. "What is it, Greg? We're busy."

"Grissom." Sara shot him an annoyed look and turned back to Greg. "I need a short break. How's it going, Greggo?"

"Fine." Greg handed the paper container to her and she took it with a pleased smile. "I thought that you could use a cup of joe."

"Thank you." Sara sipped the steaming liquid and breathed in the aroma with genuine appreciation. "White chocolate mocha…my favorite."

"Where is mine--- Greggo?" Grissom held up his empty hands and smirked.

A funny expression flit over Greg's face and he looked at Sara for help. With a shake of her head, she turned to Grissom.

"If you were nicer to Greg then maybe he would think to bring you coffee every now and again."

"I doubt that." Grissom dismissed them both by turning his attention back to the case in front of him.

Greg sighed with relief. "See you later, Sara."

"Bye Greg."

Sara took another sip of her coffee and studied the case details. She was immersed in the facts when Grissom mumbled something beneath his breath.

"What's that?" Sara leaned forward to see if it pertained to the case.

"I said that you're leading Greg on by going out to dinner with him and accepting his coffee with such pleasure."

Sara knew that her mouth fell open. She shut it quickly and leaned back in her chair. "Tell me you did not just say what I think you did Grissom."

"What do you think I said?" Grissom did not look up from the case.

Sara was wary. "If I didn't know better I would say you were jealous." She ran a finger over the rim of the coffee lid. "Since I know better, then I would say that you are afraid that I will hurt Greg?"

"What if it's neither?" Grissom peered at her over the rim of his glasses. "What if I tell you that I don't think interoffice romances are appropriate? Any interoffice romances."

"Then I would say that you are full of it." Sara leaned forward and pulled the case out from beneath his nose. "I know for a fact that you have gone out with several lab techs over the years. I can give you details."

Grissom's mouth opened and shut quickly. "That is precisely why it is a bad idea."

"If the said individuals are lame enough to come back here and brag about going out with Gil Grissom…" Sara allowed the implication to linger in the air.

"They bragged about going out with me?" Grissom could not keep the teasing quality from his voice.

"Forget it, Grissom." Sara pushed the case back in front of him and stared at her own notes.

Grissom leaned back in his chair, took his glasses off and folded them while keeping his eyes trained on the blush creeping along Sara's neckline. He had a few failed attempts at dates from the lab over the past few years. None since Sara had arrived from San Francisco three years prior. He never thought the said dates would brag about going out with him, at least not in a positive sense.

"Are you dating Greg?" He decided the direct approach would be the smartest.

"Excuse me?" Sara's eyes shot daggers through him. "Why are you asking me this, Grissom?"

"It's a simple question." Grissom placed his glasses on the table in front of him. "Are you dating Greg?"

"No. Happy?" Sara took another sip of coffee and averted her eyes. "We go out as friends. A concept that is foreign to you."

"It's not so foreign, Sara." Grissom knew his next statement was not smart the second it left his mouth. "In fact, Catherine and I go out as friends all of the time."

Sara tried to hide the hurt, but she failed to look away in time. She stood abruptly and made a flimsy excuse about needing a bathroom break.

Grissom watched her rapid exit and frowned to himself. _Good move, Gil_. He berated himself for his lack of tact as a simple question attacked his conscious. He didn't want to go places with Sara did he? No, that didn't sound right. If he could go places with Catherine and entertain no romantic thoughts, then why could he not go places with Sara? Answering his own question, the realization settled into his mind.

TBC

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	2. Chapter Two

Day by Day part 2

By: Manigault

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This new realization was beyond strange to Grissom as he nervously watched Sara return from the bathroom and settle into her chair without speaking a single word to him.

He stood abruptly and reached for her coffee container. At her startled expression, he said in defense. "It's cold. I thought that I'd re-heat it in the microwave."

Sara watched him through narrowed eyes and then looked back at the stack of cases and smirked. He probably was afraid that she'd bail out on him and leave him with all of this paperwork. Not bright, considering he'd ordered her to help and as he liked to inform her, he was the supervisor.

Grissom returned the steaming coffee to her and pulled his chair over closer to her own. Jumping back slightly, Sara eyed him with uneasiness. He shrugged slightly and pretended to read something on the notes in front of her.

"You could have asked to see these notes, Grissom." Sara pushed them closer to him as she scooted her chair a little away.

Grissom cast her an unreadable look before pulling his own case over and pointing to a paragraph. "It appears that we have a match." He reached for her notes and pointed out another paragraph. "Read this."

Sara pulled the report back over and read where he pointed. She then reached for his notes and did the same. "I suppose we have a match." She smiled, but was directed at the paper. Grissom wanted that smile and regretted that she was wasting it on the table and paper. He tried to draw her attention back to him by making a smart comment.

"One down and a hundred or so to go." Okay, not so bright. The smile fled from her face and she set the current case in a different spot before reaching for the next case.

"Well, let's keep working." Sara started to hand him half of the paperwork as they had been doing, when he a thought occurred to her. "Grissom? Why are we splitting these reports? Why don't you take the next case and I'll go over this one?"

Grissom tried to think of a resonable argument. He honestly couldn't think of anything that sounded plausible. With a disgruntled sigh he reached for the next one and they worked in silence for the next hour.

"So, it looks like you haven't budged since we left." Nick lingered in the doorway and couldn't help the teasing grin that tilted the corners of his mouth.

Sara rubbed her eyes and glared in the direction of the exuberant investigator. Warrick was more sympathetic. "Don't listen to him, Sara. You should have seen Nicky get attacked by this cat when we walked into the house."

"Hey." Nick rubbed his still sore arm. "It wasn't funny."

Sara laughed, her face softening. Catherine joined them inside the break room in time to see Grissom watching Sara with a shuttered expression.

"The research going well?" She included them both in her gaze.

Sara replied after several seconds elapsed and it was clear that Grissom would not.

"Wonderful. We have one match." She glanced at Grissom and smiled. "And only a hundred or so left."

Grissom visibly started. He looked from her face back to the case in front of him and hoped that she'd not seen him catch his breath. She took his disinterest as ignoring her comment. The smile fled her lips and she turned her attention back to her own case.

Catherine shook her head and marveled that two intelligent people could be so dense when it came to feelings. She caught Warrick's eye and he gave her a shrug.

"Anyone want to order pizza? Nick suggested. He pulled out a chair next to Sara and teasingly bumped her with his shoulder.

Grinning back at him, Sara was relieved of the break. "Sure, are you buying?"

"I don't have cat scratch fever, Sara." Nick mock glared over at Warrick. "He's buying."

"Since when?" Warrick took a chair on the other side of Grissom who was pretending to not listen to the friendly banter. "Hey, Gris, you want to buy us a pizza?"

"Okay."

Silence dropped over the room as all eyes flew to Grissom in shock.

"You're joking Grissom?" Nick finally managed.

Grissom removed his glasses and placed them carefully on the stack of cases. Keeping his eyes averted from Sara, he looked at everyone else in turn.

"Have I ever bought you all dinner before?"

"Well, yeah." Nick admitted, and then added almost beneath his breath. "But not for the past year."

Grissom tapped his glasses on the table. "Well, this year is going to be different." He glanced over at Sara without thinking about it and then back to Warrick. "I'm buying so you can all order whatever you want." He then excused himself to get something from his office, leaving his team to marvel over whatever they wanted regarding his change of attitude.

TBC


	3. Chapter Three

Note: I'm not thrilled with the way this ended, and I realize that it's not my usual ending by any stretch of the imagination. I'm G/S all the way and this story will most likely be followed up with a sequel.

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Grissom closed his townhouse door and took inventory of his life. He recalled the comment that Catherine had once made when they were processing a suspect's home about how people needed something real in their life, if only it was a plant. He then thought of the Orchid that he'd sent Sara when she had presented him with that leave of absence request. They had never spoken of it and he wondered if she still had the plant or if it had died in the past season.

Sighing deeply, he walked slowly towards his bathroom to take a long and much-needed shower. Images of Sara floated through his muddled brain as he let the cold water wash over his neck and back and his hands supported his body as he leaned into the beating pellets of water. When had his feelings for her changed from trusting friend to someone that he could not imagine living without? Moreover, when had she changed from looking at him with doting eyes to watching him with guarded mistrust? He pictured her in the conference room, her wary eyes watching him hand Warrick a fifty-dollar bill for the pizzas and drinks. She had nibbled on one slice of the vegetarian pizza before excusing herself to continue with the case files. He held his tongue when he found that he was about to reprimand her for not eating enough and instead returned his own half eaten slice of pizza to his plate and picked up his own case.

Now Grissom had to take stock of what direction he wanted to pursue with his life and whom he wanted to pursue. Lying on his bed, alone once again, he tried to imagine what it would be like if Sara were lying next to him. If she would run her long fingers over his chest and give him that special smile that she once reserved only for him. He wanted to make her smile. He fell into a restless sleep, dreaming of deep brown eyes.

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Grissom placed a coffee container on the lab counter beside Sara. A little over a month had elapsed since his self-realization and he was taking slow steps towards reaching the goal he had since prescribed for himself.

Sara's eyes held the guarded expression he'd come to expect whenever he stepped into her personal space or made a comment that would have been normal flirtation a year ago.

"It's a White chocolate mocha." He told her when she made no move to pick up the container.

"Uh, okay. Thanks Grissom." Sara still didn't pick up the coffee; instead she bent back to the microscope and peered through the lenses. When she felt that Grissom was not moving she tried to keep the irritation from her tone.

"Grissom," Sara kept her eyes on the object in the microscope. She was not going to look into his blue eyes and feel herself pulled back into his depths. "Did you bring me coffee because you want me to do something for you?"

When Grissom did not respond, she pulled back to find him watching her intently. Suddenly self conscious, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shook her head slightly.

"Are you going to drink it?" Grissom pointed to the coffee without taking his eyes from her face.

Confusion was etched on Sara's face as she picked up the hot drink. "Why are you so interested in my drinking this, Grissom? Did you poison it?" The smile that played around her lips as she teased him vanished with the hurt she saw in his eyes.

"I was kidding." She couldn't fathom why Grissom was suddenly being so attentive, but guessed that it had something to do with her new promotion and the fact that he felt that she was learning how to excel without his tutorage. Did he feel threatened? Taking a deliberate sip of the almost sweet brew she raised her eyebrows and set the cup back on the counter. "Satisfied?"

"What are doing after shift?" Grissom asked suddenly, his eyes focused on her face.

The unexpected question floored Sara and her newfound confidence slipped just a hair. "Excuse me?"

Grissom licked his dry lips and questioned his own surprise. "I asked if you had plans for breakfast after shift."

"That isn't what you asked me, but yes I have plans." Sara was intrigued by the flash of emotions that played across his face. "With Catherine and the guys." She reached for the coffee again. It would be a shame to waste it so she took another sip and tried to understand why Grissom was bringing her coffee and asking her about her plans for after shift. "Why are you asking me this Grissom?"

Shifting from one foot to another, he shrugged and tried to change the subject. "What are you looking at?" His eyes were trained on the microscope as Sara weighed her options. She could call him on his evasiveness and hope to discover why he was behaving in such a strange manner. Or, she could play his games and pretend nothing had happened.

"See for yourself." She stepped back and he had no choice but to step forward and peer through the lenses. "What do you think?" She watched him step back and twist his body slightly to see her face.

"I think that I would like to be invited to breakfast with everyone. Why wasn't I?"

Sara held her breath. She didn't know this game. It wasn't fair that he had the playbook and she was left in the dark.

"Warrick asked me and Catherine if we wanted to grab breakfast after work." She measured her words, careful not to sound accusing. "Since when have you ever wanted to go with us to breakfast?"

"Since I've made some decisions in my life." It was hard, but he kept his eyes from wavering from her face. "Only I don't want to talk about them here, or with a group of people."

The silence stretched on for several minutes as Sara replayed his statement in her mind. She was so tired of trying to read into his words and she wondered why he was doing this to her now. She was determined to get over him and move on with her life so why was he standing so close to her and looking at her as though she held his heart in her hands? She took another sip of the coffee and tried to think of what she should say to him. She knew one thing for certain-she was not going to open herself up to him, only to be shunned again.

"I'm sure that Warrick would have invited you to join us if you had been around." Sara contemplated his closed expression. "You are welcome to join us, you know that don't you Grissom?"

"Are you inviting me to have breakfast with you?" Grissom told himself to drop the subject. She was not ready for him to be pressing her like this, but he found that he could not keep himself from pursuing the subject.

Sara felt her heart skip a beat and silently berated herself for responding to his sensuous voice and disarming manner.

"I'm inviting you to have breakfast with me, Catherine, Warrick and Nick." Sara stressed.

"Okay." Grissom knew it was time to bail out of this conversation and take what he could get, but an idea was brewing in his mind.

He left Sara staring after him and made his way to the trace lab where he'd last seen Catherine and Warrick.

"Hi." Grissom paused in the doorway.

Catherine greeted him with a smile and Warrick gave him a slight nod in acknowledgement.

"Busy?" Grissom walked over to the table where Warrick was engrossed in some evidence.

"What does it look like?" Catherine asked him with a smirk.

Grissom shifted his weight from one leg to the other and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "I'll come back." He started to leave, but spun around before he could change his mind. "Would you both like to come over for breakfast? I'll cook omelets per request."

Warrick dropped the paper he was looking at and stared at Grissom in stunned silence. Catherine only suppressed a laugh, but her voice was questioning as she spoke.

"We were planning on going out with Sara and Nick. Are they invited?"

Grissom tried to keep his expression blank and his voice steady. "Of course." He started towards the doorway and said over his shoulder. "I'll see you all there around eight."

When he was safely out of earshot Warrick and Catherine looked at one another.

"What was that?" Warrick asked. Catherine lifted her shoulders and shrugged. They had barely returned to processing their evidence when Sara stuck her head in the door.

"Hey, you two," Sara gave a short wave when they looked up. "Grissom is joining us for breakfast. I thought that I should let you know."

She was gone before they could correct her statement. Again, Warrick and Catherine exchanged looks. "This gets interesting and more interesting." Warrick mumbled.

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"Where are we?" Sara was sitting in the passenger side of Catherine's Tahoe. She did not recognize the street they were driving along, although it did look familiar.

"Grissom invited us over to his place for breakfast." Catherine spoke with as much casualness as she could manage.

"He did what?" Sara clutched the door handle and looked like she was about to pull it open and step out.

Catherine clicked the lock buttons to ensure herself that Sara was not going to do something stupid.

"He offered to make omelets for everyone." Catherine glanced at the tense woman beside her. "Grissom makes some mean omelets."

"He has cooked for you?" Sara's voice was barely above a whisper, she was not prepared to walk into Grissom's domain and pretend it was a nice breakfast with the boss.

"Grissom and I have been friends for fifteen years, Sara. On occasion he has cooked breakfast for me after particularly hard cases. It's been awhile, though."

Sara bit her lip and kept her opinion to herself. She envied the easy friendship that Catherine shared with Grissom and the fact that he had no qualms about inviting her to his home for breakfast. She also knew that he had told Catherine about the surgery on his ears. That had hurt when he made the admission upon his return to the lab. She knew that he had thought about not telling them about his hearing issues, but something had made him change his mind. She released her breath when they pulled into a parking space next to Grissom's Tahoe. Warrick and Nick pulled into a parking space on the other side of them and Sara told herself that she would let them carry the conversation. She would eat an omelet and then ask someone to drive her home. She knew that she should have insisted on driving herself to breakfast, but Catherine had convinced her that she could just as easily drop her off on her way to her own home.

Grissom was smiling when he opened the door. His eyes swept over the group, lingering on the one person he most wanted to please. He had rushed home after work, taken a quick shower, changed into a short-sleeved light blue button shirt, and faded jeans. Catherine raised her brows at his change in attire, but fortunately, she kept her comments to herself and waited for Sara to precede her into the townhouse. Averting her eyes from the masculine form in front of her, Sara walked over to a butterfly display and pretended to study the various species. Oblivious to her discomfort, Nick and Warrick started hitting Grissom up for their omelets. Relieved to comply, Grissom took their orders in good fashioned humor and allowed himself to steal only one peek at Sara. Catherine moved into his kitchen with familiarity and reached for the orange juice he had set out.

"I don't have anything to go with that orange juice, Catherine." Grissom joked without looking up from the omelet.

"Too bad, I'm sure that we could all use a nice strong drink." Catherine teased back, but her eyes were fastened on the tense back of her co-worker.

Warrick shivered. "I don't want anything with my juice at eight in the morning."

"But," Nick pouted with a teasing smile. "It's five o'clock somewhere."

Everyone chuckled, with the exception of Sara, who had moved over to Grissom's stereo system and CD collection.

"You can play something, if you like, Sara." Grissom's voice reached her across the room. She shook her head and looked away from the CD selection, trying not to care what he listened to or that she could choose to play what she wanted. She moved to the couch and took a seat without looking over in his direction. She could wait this out and then leave, pleading tiredness. She would go home, take a long shower, and then crash for the next few hours.

Warrick joined her on the sofa, his omelet encompassing the entire perimeter of the plate. He cast his eyes towards Sara and grinned. "Grissom can make a fancy egg dish, can't he Sara?"

Grunting in response, Sara stood and moved over to the sliding door that led to the balcony. She slid the door back and stepped outside. The air was much less stifling out here and she found that her chest was not so tight, nor her mind so heavy with trying to suppress her desires. She wasn't certain how long she stood there, when she felt his presence. He gripped the balcony, his arm pressing into her own, his eyes focused straight ahead.

"It's peaceful here." Grissom struggled to control his voice, keeping the conversation neutral. While he was cooking, he'd joked and talked with his team, but internally his mind was following Sara around his home and out onto his balcony. Handing Catherine her omelet he used the excuse of asking Sara what she wanted in her omelet to follow her outside.

Now they stood in silence. Grissom would not label it uncomfortable, but it was tense.

"I'm glad that you're here." Grissom kept his voice soft, so not to carry to his team who sat inside eating breakfast. He watched Sara's face reflect her inner turmoil and his heart ached for the pain he knew that he'd caused. He wanted to erase the past year and start over, but time was unforgiving in that regard. Drawing in a deep breath, he took a chance and reached over to touch her hand. "I want us to be friends, Sara. I want us to be---." His voice broke and he shuddered when she pulled her hand away from his.

"You want to go back in time, but we can't, Grissom." Sara spoke with such certainty that Grissom flinched. He didn't want to hear her say that it was too late for them. He wouldn't let her say it.

"We can move forward." Grissom turned to face her and reached out to grip her elbow lightly in his grasp. "I want to start over in that regard, Sara. Is it possible?"

Sara was not sure what he was asking. She wanted to move forward, but for her that meant moving away from Grissom in the physical sense. He was her supervisor, which was all she could allow him to be. Friendship was possible only on the surface. With a sigh, she accepted that was what their relationship had always been. A surface relationship, with undercurrents that Grissom refused to acknowledge.

"Is my omelet ready, Grissom?" Sara pulled away from his grasp and turned to re-enter the town home.

"No," Grissom noticed that the door was open and that their voices were carrying inside to the silent group. "I wanted you to tell me what you would like in your omelet." He followed Sara over to the kitchen island, ignoring the poignant look that Catherine was sending in his direction.

Sara drummed her fingers on the counter and stared at his stove like it was a foreign object. "You know, Grissom, I'm not very hungry. Maybe Warrick or Nick could drive me home."

She was not prepared for the disappointment that transformed his normally reserved face. Grissom looked down at the counter to hide his expression from prying eyes and nodded slowly.

Noticing the tension, Nick tried to lighten the mood, "I'm not ready to leave, but if you don't want an omelet, I'll take yours."

Warrick picked up on his teasing and joined Nick by the counter. "What's the limit on these things, Gris? I could eat another one."

Relaxing with their easy banter, Grissom pointed a wooden spoon in Sara's direction. "Sidle goes first." He forced himself to smile and realized that it was coming to him easier than he would have thought given the fact his ego was bruised to the core. "It looks like you're stuck here for the time being, so what would you like?"

"Fine." Sara knew when she was beaten as she looked at her comrades and found them eager for seconds. "Green peppers, onions," She surveyed the items on his counter and could not help be impressed with the array. "Tomatoes. That's it." Avoiding his eyes, she remained in the kitchen when Warrick and Nick returned to the sofa.

Catherine was flipping channels on the flat screen television while Nick and Warrick argued with her about what station to watch and they all tried to ignore whatever was transpiring between Grissom and Sara in the next room.

Concentrating on making the best omelet Sara had ever eaten, Grissom was unaware of the watchful brown eyes boring into him.

Flipping the omelet onto a plate with his spatula, he was on the verge of calling to her that her breakfast was served when he caught her stare from only a few feet away. Almost dropping the plate, he steadied his hand and thrust the plate in her direction.

"I hope that you like it."

Without a word, Sara took the omelet and thanked him as civilly as she could, before moving over to the counter.

Confused, Grissom watched her settle into a chair and pick up the fork he had placed on the edge of the plate.

"You aren't going to watch television with the others?"

"No."

Sara took a bite of her food and chewed thoughtfully. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that Grissom had made this for her, or the fact that she really was hungry, but the omelet was mouth watering.

"This is delicious." Sara told him before she took another bite. Beaming at her from his spot in the kitchen, Grissom watched her savoring each bite. He became aware of her eyes questioning him when she picked up the glass of orange juice Catherine had poured for her when they had first arrived.

"Are you going to eat?" Sara asked as she drove her fork into another piece of the omelet.

"Um, yeah." Grissom reached for the eggs and cut his eyes back over to where she was sitting. As quickly as he could, he scrambled the eggs for himself and was soon sitting in a chair beside Sara.

Nick glanced over and opened his mouth to question Grissom about his seconds when he felt Catherine jab him on the arm. "They need to smooth out their differences, Nick."

Warrick nodded in agreement. "You know," he looked at Catherine. "I think that I'm going to leave and head home for a nice long nap. You coming, Nick?"

Nick nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

Sara watched them approach. She gave her unfinished omelet a sad look, but started to push off of her chair.

"You don't have to leave, Sara." Catherine spoke quickly when she noticed her movements. "I'm certain that Grissom will give you a lift home when you are ready."

Grissom was quick to agree. When he saw them stand up he'd mentally kicked himself for not offering to make seconds for Nick and Warrick. Now she would probably push her plate away and ask one of them to drop her off at home.

Sara started to do exactly that when she risked a look at him from the corner of her eye.

"You don't mind?"

He shook his head, then caught himself. "No, no. I'll take you home whenever you want me to, Sara."

They watched their co-workers trail out the front door, one by one. Alone with Sara, Grissom felt his mouth suddenly go dry. He pushed his plate back. Picking up a glass of juice, he took a long sip before realizing that it was not his glass.

"Sorry." He set it back down next to her plate and grimaced.

"I don't have cooties, Gris." Laughter spilled over into Sara's voice and he looked over at her to weigh the level of her amusement.

"It's not your germs I'm afraid of ingesting." Grissom confessed softly. "It's that I don't think you want mine trespassing in your territory."

Sara's burst of laughter was contagious. "That was the dumbest thing anyone has ever said to me." She wiped at the corner of her eye and let the smile stretch her quivering lips.

He did not want to ruin the light mood that had replaced the tension, so he said nothing. However, his eyes spoke volumes. They lingered on her full lips and the laughter faded as Sara watched him gazing at her with a naked yearning. She fought the urge to jump up and ask him to take her home right that second. She tried to pull her gaze off of him. When his hands reached towards her hips she felt frozen in the chair. When he leaned forward, his eyes never leaving her trembling lips, she waited to see how far he would continue with the charade. He hesitated when his lips were barely grazing hers. He tore his eyes away and glanced into her terrified eyes.

"Sara?" His voice was husky, questioning, as he waited for her to let him know if he had gone too far.

She tried to find her breath and stay calm as she felt one of his hands leave her hip and touch the side of her knee. He told himself to draw back, but his body was not listening. Instead of pulling back, he eased off his chair and gently turned hers until she was facing him and he was standing between her knees. He kept his eyes on hers as he began rubbing his thumb along the inside of her knee. The gasp was enough to close the distance between them. Sara almost forgot herself as the kiss deepened. It was everything she had imagined it would be, but something important tugged on her mind.

Grissom felt her push on his chest with both hands. He released her lips and pulled back far enough to see her troubled face.

"Do you want me to take you home?" His voice shook and she knew that this was her chance to make her fantasies real. If she said the word, Grissom would lead her to his bedroom and they would….

She frowned. They would have sex. Not make love, but have passionate sex. At one time, she thought that was what she wanted from him, but the past few months had changed many of her feelings. She knew that now what she needed was something that she was not certain he was capable of giving to her. She took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded.

"Take me home, Grissom."

They didn't speak about what happened on the way to Sara's apartment. In silence, Grissom walked her to her door and waited until she was safely inside. Before closing the door, Sara offered him a weak smile, but it failed to reach her eyes.

"Thanks for breakfast, Grissom." She started to close the door, but hesitated. "You know, maybe we can be friends."

The door clicked shut and Grissom found himself in a position he had never experienced. He was in love with someone who was shutting him out.

Moving away from her apartment door, he walked slowly back to his car. He knew that he wasn't going to give up on her that easily. He would take it day by day, until she was his again.

The End.


End file.
